Car.



No. 788,628, PATENTED MAY 2, 1905. J.- R. BOWLING.

UAR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6. 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

.FIG. 1.

No. 788,628. PATENTE'D MAY 2, 1905.

J. R. BOWLING.

GAR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6. 19M.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

mine U66 lnveizi'alf (QWfi /M (R M No. 788,628. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

J. R. BOWLING. I

GAR.

APPLICATION FILED mm: 6. 1904.

a sums-sum a.

STATES Patented May 2, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH R. BOIVLING, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO THE IN- GOLDSBYAUTOMATIC CAR COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF W'ESTVIRGINIA.

CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,628, dated May 2,1905.

Application filed June 6, 1904. Serial No. 211,235.

To (1.7], 11/71/0111, it 'nuty concern:

Be it known that I, J osnrii It. BOWLING. a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented acertain new and useful Improvementin Cars, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

My invention relates to convertible cars which may be employedinterchangeably for the transportation of ordinary merchandise or forcarrying dumpable material, and has for its object the construction of acar of this type which may be readily converted from a car of onecharacter to a car of the other, which will when used either as anordinary freight-car or as a dumping-car utilize substantially theentire space within the body of said car for cargo-carrying purposes,which will as a d um ping-car permit of the convenient opening of someof the di'lmpingdoors without affecting the others, and which willeffectually prevent the leakage of finely-divided material between thedoors.

The invention may be defined generally as consisting of the combinationsof elements embodied in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view, partly in side elevationand partly in longitudinal section, through a car embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of said car. Fig. 3 is asectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. I is a corresponding viewon the line 4c 4 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is an end elevation on the line 55 of Fig. 1, a portion of the rear of the car being broken away andshowing the folding members in the position which they occupy when thecar is employed to carry ordinary freight. Figs. 6 and 7 are bottomplans on the correspondingly-munbered lines of Figs. 3 and 4, showingthe hinge-supports.

Describing the parts by letters, A represents the side of the car, saidcar being shown as of the box-car type and having a door a car may be agondola. The car has the usual longitudinal center sills B, end sills B,and side sills B.

The bottom of the car is composed of two sets of doors C and C, theformer beinghinged at or near the longitudinal center of the car andextending to the sides thereof. These doors, as is common with the doorsof the Ingoldsby type of car, are provided with floorbeams c, the endsof which extend beyond the side sills B and are there engaged by thepivoted hooks (Z to hold the doors in closed position. These hooks areoperated by means of a lever l) and a link (5' in the manner usual withthe lngoldsby type of car.

The doors C instead of being pivoted at each side of a central ridge arepivoted at the center of the car, preferably to brackets F, carried bythe longitudinal beams B. A convenient manner of pivoting these doorsconsists in staggering the angle-iron floor-beams c in the manner shownin Fig. 7, so that the top of the bracket is between and adjacent to theextensions (2 and c of the vertical flanges 0' ofsuch beams. Thehinge-pintle 0 extends through holes in said extensions and in the topof said bracket.

In order to prevent finely-divided material from sifting through thejoint between the doors C, I provide one of said doors with a plate a,the top of said plate being flush with the top of said door and beingcurved around the axis of the hinge center in the manner shown in Fig.I. The opposite dooris provided with a plate 0 which, like the plate 0",is flush with the top of said door, but is not curved at its inner edge,said inner edge abutting against the curved portion of the plate a. Asshown in Fig. I, the curved portion 0* of the plate 0" extends somewhatmore than ninety degrees around thehinge center, thereby enabling saiddoors to be dropped to their full extent until the doors engage thebeams B or suitable bumpers carried thereby without opening up a jointbetween the plates 0 and 0 In order to provide for'dumping the portionof the load carried at the ends of the car withoutany material reductionof the cargo-carry ing space, I employ vertical ends a? for the car andseparate dumping-doors C for said ends. Owing to the interference withthe dumping of said doors by the wheels, it is necessary in order todischarge the load properly to hinge said doors C at a point far enoughfrom the center of the car to permit them to open to sufficient distanceto discharge the load readily. I accomplish this in the manner shown inFig. 3, wherein G represents a yokeshaped bracket which is supported onthe center sills B and, as shown, is provided with eyes to which thedoors 0 are pivoted. Two such brackets may be employed for each of thedoors G and may be attached to the sills B in any convenient manner, asby means of lugs g, having bolts g extending therethrough. The centralspace between the doors 0 is bridged by two folding members H, whichwhen the caris used for carrying ordinary merchandise are in theposition shown in Fig. 5 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, constituting acontinuation of the floor-surface formed by the members C C. When themembers H are in this position, the flooring of the car presentsasmoothunbroken surface for the storing of merchandise, providing the parts Kand the members M and M have been removed.

When it is desired to use the car as a dumpcar, the members H are swungup into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, being maintained insuch position by means of a ridge member K, having beveled faces 1;,against which the ends of the members H abut, said ridge member and saidfolding members H forming together an inverted-V-shaped deflector, bymeans of which the dumpable material is directed through the doors C.The rear ends of the members H abut against the end of the car and forma sufficiently tight joint therewith to prevent the loss of materialbetween said ends and the end of the car. In order to prevent the lossof material through the space between the front ends of said members, Iemploy a closure L U, which may be attached to and carried by the memberK and will fill the space between said members H. hen the members H arefolded down, they may be supported in any suitable manner, as bya beam Lresting on top of the brackets G, said beam being of sufficientthickness to receive the vertical flanges it of the floorbeams of themembers H.

A convenient manner of hinging the doors C and members H to the bracketsG is shown in Fig. 6, wherein it will be seen that the floor-beams h ofthe members H and the floorbeams c of the doors G are out of alinement asuificient distance to permit the insertion therebetween of the lug g onthe upper end of the bracket G. The ends of the vertical flanges of theangle-beams c and h are extended in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 6and are provided with eyes corresponding to the eye g in the lug g Ahinge-pintle 72,

extends through the eyes of said three members. The above constructionprovides a simple and effective means for hinging the doors C and themembers H to the yokes.

In order to prevent leakage between the doors C and members H, I employtherewith a construction similar to that employed on the doors C. Thedoors C, which are permitted to drop to the position shown in clottedlines in Fig. 3, are each provided with a plate 0", adjacent to theinner edge of the same and curved downwardly in the manner shown in Fig.3. In the vicinity of the hinges it partially surrounds said hinges toprotect the same from injury by the material carried in the car. Themembers H have each adjacent to the outer edge thereof a plate acorresponding to the plate 0 of the door C. This plate extends to thejoint between the member H and the door C and is preferably curveddownwardly at such junction, as shown in Fig. 3. As will be apparentfrom said figure, when the doors 0 are dropped an unbroken joint ispreserved between said members C and H. Likewise when the car is usedfor purposes of ordinary transportation with the members H folded down,as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, this unbroken joint is preserved.

In order to prevent leakage between the ends of the doors and thetransverse beams, I employ covering members M and M. These members areall of inverted-V shape to shed the load and are of such width as tocover their corresponding cross-beams N N and bolster O and to extendover the edges of the doors adjacent to said beams and bolsters. Thesemembers may be secured in place in any convenient manner when the car isto be used as a dump car, as by means of lagscrews. The central member Mextends all the way across the car; but themembers M may be made of twopieces, each extending from the side to its folding member H. In orderto permit the members H to fold down and form a continuous surface withthe doors 0. the beams N and bolsters 0 will be cut down in the mannershown in Fig. 5 beneath the same members H.

The intermediate doors H, forming the ridge over the trucks, may havetheir inner ends vertical or diagonal, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Ifthey arediagonal, the floor-beam M carries apermanent triangular pieceto fill the gap when the doors are folded down.

To close the doors 0 C, I may employ therewith operating mechanismsimilar to that shown in the application ofIngoldsby and Bowling, SerialNo. 185,942, filed December 21, 1903. Such mechanism consists generallyof longitudinal rock-shafts Q Q, journaled to the center sills andhaving at one end of the car rigid arms (1. Connected with these armsare chains R R, passing around a shaft 7*, which extends from a plate Sto the end of the car.

Said shaft may be operated by means of a gear-Wheel r, rigid therewith,and a pinion i operated by a crank r there being a ratchet a" and pawl0", as shown in said prior application.

In order to permit the opening and closing of some of the doors withoutinterfering with the others, 1 have devised this construction. Rigidwith the shafts Q is a series of arms T. Pivotally connected with thevertical flanges c a of the angle-iron floor-beams are the links U. Aconvenient manner of so connecting said links and flanges is by means ofpins a, extending through said flanges and links. The lower end of eachlink is slotted, as shown at a, for the reception of a pin t, carried bythe end of the lever T. The length of the slot w is sufficient to permitthe dropping of one or more doors, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4,before the pins on the arms reach the ends of the slots in the linksattached to the closed doors. By rotating the shaft Q the doors may beclosed and the operations of opening and closing such doors may beaccomplished without interfering with the doors that have not beenopened.

It will be noticed that the locking-hooks (Z, carried by the side of thecar and engaging the floor-beams c, are made comparatively short in thiscar, so as not to ex tend above the floor-level. This allows the link dto continue along the side beneath the doorway a without obstructing thesame. In order to allow the hooks (Z to be of the necessary length, Iplace the side sill B low, its upper edge being substantially on thefloor-level, and I bend downward the floor-beams c to pass beneath it,as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This is at once a simple and advantageousconstruction.

Beneath the doorway the link (Z has a breakable joint similar to thatshown and claimed in application, Serial No. 51,656, filed by F. S.Ingoldsby March 18, 1901. This breakable joint consists of a pair ofdownturned members (i pivoted at (i to the alined portions of the linkand pivoted to each other at d. A

pin passed through holes (1 in these members makes them rigid, allowingthe whole link to operate in unison, while if the pin is withdrawn thelink buckles at that point and only the portion at the operating end ofthe car is thrown, the other portion being locked in a suitable manner.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that I have produceda car of the shape ordinarily employed for transportation of merchandise(one having straight ends) which may be readily and quickly convertedinto a dumping-car and which when so converted will retain practicallythe full capacity that it possessed before such conversion, the onlyencroachment upon the space within such car being that caused by thefolding up of the membersH and the insertion of the transverseprotecting members M M". Compared with the total capacity of the car thespace so deducted is negligible.

lVhile I have shown and described my invention as applied to a box-car,it will be apparent that it may be applied equally well to other typesof car, and while IV have also described my invention in detail it willbe apparent that such details may be departed from or modified more orless without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do notpropose to be limited to such details unless the same are positivelyincluded in the claims hereto annexed or rendered necessary by the priorstate of the art.

I claim-- 1. A convertible freight and dumping car, said car havingdumping-doors for the bottom thereof, said dumping-doors extending onlypart of the distance between the sides and the center of the car, andmeans for closing the intermediate space unoccupied by said doors, saidmeans being adapted to form an inclined load-discharging surface whenthe car is to be used as a dumping-car and to be folded down to form asurface flush with the bottom when the car is to be used for ordinarypurposes, substantially as described.

2. In a convertible freight and dumping ear, end doors for said carextending from the side part of the distance to the center, foldingmembers filling the space between said doorswhen the car is used as anordinary freight-car, and removable means for supporting said foldingmembers in an inclined position and for filling the space between theupper edges thereof whereby said members may serve as distributers fordumpable material, substantially as described.

3. In a convertible freight and dumping car, end doors for said carextending from the side part of the distance to the center, foldingmembers lilling the space between said doors when the car is used as anordinary freigl'it-car, a ridge member adapted to engage the inner edgesof said folding members to hold said members in an inclined position andto form with said members an inclined surface for the discharge ofdumpable material through said doors, substantially as described.

4. In a convertible freight and dumping car, end doors for said carextending from the side part of the distance to the center, foldingmembers filling the space between said doors when the car is used as anordinary freight-car, a ridge member adapted to engage the inner edgesof said folding members to form with said members an inclined surfacefor the discharge of dumpable material, and means carried by said ridgemember for closing the space between the ends of said members,substantially as described.

5. In a convertible freight and dumping car, end doors for said carextending from the side part of the distance to the center, foldingmembers filling the space between said doors when the car is used as anordinary freight-car and adapted to be folded up to form inclinedsurfaces for du m pable material, the outer ends of said members fittingclosely against the end of the car, and means for closing the spacebetween the inner ends of said members, substantially as described.

a 6. Aconvertible freight and dumping car, said car having intermediatedumping-doors and end doors, said intermediate doors extending from thesides to the center of the car and said end doors extending from thesides part of the distance to the center, foldable members for thecentral space between the end doors and folding down toward each otherwith their inner edges opposed to each other and their upper surfacesflush with the adjacent end doors when the car is used as an ordinaryfreight-car, and means for holdingsaid members in an inclined positionto form a load-discharging surface for dumpable material, substantiallyas described.

7. A convertible freight and dumping car, said car having a plurality ofdoors in the bottom thereof, floor-beams uniting the sides of said carand extending across the car between said doors,sheddingmembersextending across said bottom above the cross-beams and the edges of thedoors adjacent thereto, and means for removably securing said sheddingmem bers to the cross-beams, substantially as described.

8. A convertible freight and dumping car, said car having floor-beamsextending across the same, doors in the bottom of said car extendingbetween said beams, members extending above said beams and covering thesame and the edges of the doors adjacent thereto, and means for securingsaid members removably in place above said beams, substantially asdescribed.

9. A convertible freight and dumping car, said car having a plurality offloor-beams extending across the bottom thereof, doors in the bottom ofthe car extending between said beams, some of said doors extending fromthe sides part of the way to the center of the car, foldable membersadapted to close the space between the last-mentioned doors, andridgeshaped protecting members extending from the sides of the car tothe said foldable members and covering the crossbeams and the edges ofthe doors adjacent thereto, substantially as described.

10. A convertible freight and dumping car, said car having doorsextending between the center of the car and the sides thereof andpivoted to swing laterally of said car, a crossbeam extending betweenthe lateral edges of said doors, a ridge member above said beam, andmeans for removably securing said ridge member to said beam,substantially as described.

11. In a convertible freight and dumping car, in combination with thebottom thereof,

doors hinged between the center and the sides of the car and extending,when closed, to said sides, folding members hinged adjacent to the inneredges of said doors and adapted, when folded down, to close the spacebetween said doors with their inner edges substantially in contact, andmeans for forming with said folding members an inclined surface forshedding dumpable material, substantially as described.

12. In a convertible freight and dumping car, in combination with thebottom thereof, doors hinged between the center and the sides of the carand extending, when closed, to said sides, folding members hinged at theinner edges of said doors and adapted, when folded down, to close thespace between said doors, and a removable ridge member for forming withsaid folding members an inclined surface for shedding dumpable materialand for retaining said members in their inclined position, substantiallyas described.

13. Inacar, in combination with the bottom of said car,oppositely-swingingdoors hinged at the center of the car, one of saiddoors having a plate at its inner edge, said plate having a curved inneredge portion, the center of curvature of which is the hinge of the door,a plate on the other door abutting against the former plate, said formerplate being curved a sufiicient distance to permit the engagement ofboth of said plates when both doors are dropped to their dumpingpositions, substantially as described.

14:. In acar, in combination with the bottom thereof, a door pivotedbetween the center and side of said car and extending, when closed, tothe side, a foldable member extending from the inner edge of said doorto the center of the car, a plate adjacent to the inner edge of saiddoor and having a curved inner edge portion, the center of curvature ofwhich is the pivot of the door, and a plate on said foldable memberadjacent to the outer edge thereof and bearing against the inner edge ofthe plate on the door, the outer edge of said plate being bentdownwardly, whereby a tight joint is formed between said door and saidmember, substantially as described.

15. In acar, in combination with the bottom thereof, center sillsextending longitudinally of said car beneath the bottom, bracketssecured to said sills, said brackets having upwardly extending arms,folding members pivoted to the upper ends of said arms and adapted toswing inwardly to form a portion of the floor, and a supporting memberresting on said brackets and supporting the inner edges of said foldingmembers, substantially as described.

16. In a car, in combination with the bottom thereof, a door extendingfrom the center of the car to the side thereof when closed, center sillsbelow said bottom, a bracket supported by said sills, said brackethaving a cen- IIO tral upwardly extending portion provided with an eye,and means for hinging said door to said eye, substantially as described.

17. In acar, in combination with the bottom thereof, center sillsextending longitudinally of said car, a bracket supported by said sillsand having a central portion with an eye adjacent to the upper endthereof, a door extending from the center of the car to the sidethereof, an angle-iron floor-beam beneath said door, said beam having avertical de pending flange, said flange being extended to the inner edgeof the door and there provided with an eye, and a hinge-pintle extendingthrough the eyes of the flange and bracket, substantially as described.

18. In a car, in combination with the bottom thereof, center sillsextending longitudinally beneath said bottom, a pair ofoppositely-disposed doors extending from the center of the car to thesides thereof when closed, a bracket supported by said center sills andhaving an upwardly-extending portion provided near its upper end with aneye, a floor-beam secured to each of said doors, each of saidfloor-beams having a depending flange at the inner edge of the door andthere formed with an eye, said beams being arranged to receive betweenthem the upper extremity of the bracket and being provided each with aneye in alinement with the eye of the bracket, and a hinge-pintleextending through said eyes, substantially as described.

19. In a car, in combination with the bottom thereof, center sillsextending beneath said bottom, a bracket supported by said sills andhaving at each upper end an eye, doors hinged to said eyes and extendingto the sides of the car, and foldable members also hinged to the eyes ofsaid bracket and adapted to close the space between said doors,substantially as described.

20. In a car, in combination with the bottom thereof, doors for saidbottom, an operatingshaft extending beneath said doors, means foroperating said shaft, and connections between said shaft and said doors,said connections being constructed to permit one or more of said doorsto be opened and'closed Without affecting the other door or doors,substantially as.

rigid with said shaft, and links connecting said arms and doors, saidlinks being constructed to allow lost motion of said arms, whereby oneor more of said doors may be opened and closed without affecting theother door or doors, substantially as described.

22. In a car, in combination with the bottom thereof, doors for saidbottom, a shaft for said doors, means for rotating said shaft, armsrigid with said shaft, and links pivotallyconnected at one end with saiddoors, the other ends of said links being provided with a slot, and apin on each of said arms engaging said slot, the length of said slotbeing suflicient to permit the dumping of one or more of said doorswithout affecting the other door or doors, substantially as described.

23. In a convertible freight and dumping car, the combination of sidesills, a dumping door forming a portion of the floor of said car andhaving its upper surface when closed flush with the top of said sill,mechanism comprising hooks and a link carried by a side sill for holdingsuch door elevated, said mechanism at the doorway being no higher thanthe side sill, and a doorway in the side reaching to the top of the sidesill, substantiallyas described.

Qet. In a convertible freight and dump car having a doorway in the side,the combination of dumping-doors forming a portion of the floor of saidcar, hooks carried by the side sills of the car and having their upperends at least as low as the floor-level, and floor-beams for thedumping-doors bent downward at their ends to pass beneath the side sillsand be en gagcd by the hooks, substantially as described.

25. In a convertible freight and dumping car, the combination of sidesills, dumping doors forming a portion of the floor of said car andhaving their upper surfaces when closed flush with the top of saidsills, mechanism carried by a side sill of the car for holding suchdoors elevated, and a breaking joint in said mechanism located on theouter side of the sill and beneath the doorway and operating to allowone door to be dumped without the other, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

JOSEPH R. BOWLING.

IVitnesses:

ALLnN U. Onmox, (J1me. lrl. Muanoen.

